A Touch in the Dark
by MystilogicalFaerie
Summary: A story where Paine finally learns to let go, love, and be loved. -Paine/Baralai


"Don't wipe off so much. That's how it gets clumpy. Yeah.. That's good."

"What are we doing here, Paine?" the golden-blond haired young man asked with a sigh. He set the deep purple nail polish down on the coffee table beside them.

Paine shrugged her shoulders, annoyed. 

"Well, Tidus, I do believe you're supposed to be painting my nails, and I'm supposed to be watching _House Hunters_."

It was 11 in the morning- the morning after- and the two were at Paine's loft apartment. It was one that her father was so graciously paying for every month.

Tidus rolled his eyes and sat back on the couch. He took a long look at Paine Yeo, the sexy silver-haired woman that he was currently... "spending time" with. It wasn't supposed to last long, and hell- it wasn't even supposed to happen, but it did, and it was fun for a while.

But Tidus had grown weary of Paine's cold-hearted manner, even though it was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the beginning.

He had definitely enjoyed Yuna Burress' company far more when they had been dating.

"I'm done."

Tidus screwed the nail polish cap on and set it back down on the coffee table, rising to his feet and wasting no time heading back to the room to retrieve the rest of his clothes.

Paine simply rolled her eyes, having heard all of this before. She starts dating a guy for a while, they have a lot of great sex, and then the guy whines about "needing more from the relationship" and usually goes on a tangent about how they liked their ex-girlfriend better, no matter how crazy that girl was. To them, anyone was better when compared to Paine.

The issue here was that to Paine, none of these flings could be considered relationships, and she was only in them for the pleasure. It didn't hurt her feelings when the guy wanted to leave; she was usually tired of them by then anyways.

"Y'know," Tidus began as he started to slip on his shoes by the front door, hiking a backpack up on his shoulder, "you could try being... I dunno, a little nicer. Friendlier, even. Maybe then you'd be able to keep a guy."

Paine said nothing, and watched Tidus exit her life with a soft click.  
After he was gone, she exhaled deeply. Honestly, she was relieved Tidus had gone. Her attraction to him hadn't lasted long at all, but she did enjoy having another warm body in her bed at night. She'd grown tired of him and his obsession with watching taped blitzball tournaments before going to bed every night. And she didn't find his humor funny at all. He could also get _very _whiny.

Paine rose from her place on the armchair and collected her bottles of nail polish, promptly taking them back to her room and putting them away in their place.

She turned and faced the messy remains of a morning romp in her bed, folding her arms across her chest. It wasn't that she didn't _want _a relationship, it was more like she couldn't find a guy she could stand for very long. There had never been anyone she felt that she really connected with. No one to stimulate her body _as well as_ her mind. But she guessed that's what every girl wanted at some point.

"Whatever," Paine muttered under her breath with mild irritation. She made her way back to the living room where sounds of a premature Christmas commercial elbowed its way into the silence of her loft.

It was only seven days into November, but the holiday sales and festive string lights had gone up the day after Halloween. The people in Zanarkand City were always so eager for a reason to celebrate and invite the family over.

Being that she hardly ever even saw her parents, Paine didn't really understand that desire to be around family so often.

Holiday dinners and awkward hugs from members of your family whom you hardly ever saw. Some people looked forward to that kind of thing, but Paine simply could not relate.

The sound of an overly happy ringtone coming from the living room returned Paine to reality and she made her way back to the couch where her phone lay.

A small smile graced her face when she read the name on the caller ID.

"Hey Lulu. How's life?" she asked with a sarcastic tone, still smiling as she muted the TV.

A mix between a laugh and a scoff came from the other end.

"You know you don't care about my life."

Paine's smile stretched into a grin as she imagined her dark-haired friend rolling her eyes good naturedly.

"That's not true, I care a little," Paine joked. Lulu was the only one Paine really related to and opened up with. Lulu was real while everyone else was fake or just _too _cheery.

"Yeah sure. What are you doing tonight, loser?"

Paine sighed dramatically and flung herself over the couch like a damsel.

"Well, I _was _gonna get screwed, but my dick just walked out on me."

Loud laughter erupted from the other end of the phone, followed with stuttered words between the laughs.

"I'm sorry, but you go through this every month. Here, I'll tell you what. Come with me to the Pink Room tonight. There's a lot of good guys—or at the very least attractive—that will be there. Who knows, you could even find a sugar daddy."

With her thousandth eye roll of the morning, Paine remarked, "No offense Lulu, but I don't really feel like another night of watching you clap your ass cheeks on stage. And the last thing I need is a sugar daddy."

"Okay, _first of all_, I'm not working today but I agreed to meet a friend there for drinks. Bar discounts and all. _Second of all_, I don't "clap", I do a classy wiggle."

"Ugh, fine! You twisted my arm, dammit. I'll see you at 9?"

Lulu squealed from the other end of the phone and hung up with the promise of meeting later that night.

Without the noise from another person's voice, the silence of Paine's apartment was deafening. She was used to it, but sometimes it got to her a little bit. It was completely different from what she had grown up with when she was a kid. Back then, the house was constantly filled with some kind of laughter or loud conversations from her parents. Her mom was always so happy and cheerful, and it made her dad the same. She made him a better person.

Paine glanced at a photo of her father on the TV stand. He was standing next to a young, black-haired Paine and her older sister. Her father rested a firm hand on each of their shoulders, staring fiercely into the lens of the camera. No one was smiling. Memories of utter misery flooded into Paine's mind, threatening to drag her into despair. She didn't know why she even kept that photo. With one last disdainful look at the image, Paine collected herself from the couch and headed back into her room.

An hour into the night and Paine was kicking herself for agreeing to go out. The strip club Lulu worked at was the last place she should have been at when she had to be to work at 10am. It was loud, it smelled like weed and alcohol, and the dollar bills being flung into the air was starting to get seriously annoying. This was all stuff she was used to, but she wasn't particularly in the mood for it anymore.

"I'm over this," Paine shouted at her friend in an effort to be heard over the noise of the club.

Lulu—dressed like a real banger in a strappy black mini dress, clear heels, and lipstick to match her mature garnet eyes—eyed her solemn-faced friend with a purse of her lips.

"You've barely even sipped your drink! We can't leave until you get at least a _little _messed up."

Paine sloshed her vodka cranberry around in her hand, glaring at the contents as the little pink umbrella in it mocked her. It wasn't even a martini.

Paine tried hard to enjoy herself, she really did. But for some reason, what Tidus said to her as he left that morning was lingering like body odor. It was souring her mood significantly, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. It wasn't like it was anything new—she knew what he said was factual and hell, she even said it to herself often.

"I'm going to get some air." Lulu shot Paine a look that said 'You better not sneak off home', and gave a short nod.

Paine offered her friend a tiny smile and slid off her stool at the bar, squeezing her way through the dense crowd of people milling about.

The night air was slightly chilly, making Paine thankful she decided to wear her trusty pair of black leather jeans with the jacket to match.

It was significantly more quiet outside, and that was saying something due to the busy nature of Zanarkand city.

"Shit." Paine spat, crossing her arms as she stared up at the starless night sky.

Maybe the reason why she was so bothered was because she had actually… _liked _Tidus a little. Sure, he was annoying and childlike, but he was warm, had a boyish charm, and—for the brief time when he actually cared about her—compassionate. And he wasn't terrible in bed. She usually kept herself as detached as possible from her relationships for this very reason.

She felt like a loser to admit this to herself. Maybe some small part thought she and Tidus could last and _maybe _she could come to care for him. Why couldn't they just stick around long enough for her to decide if she even wanted a relationship?

Lost in her own thoughts, the loud thud of a car door closing snapped Paine out of it, and she looked toward the street where a man was handing cash to a taxi driver through the window. He was dressed in a crisp white button up that complimented his rich, brown skin tone, pressed black slacks and nice, polished shoes. A blue scarf was placed carefully around his neck to protect from the chill. He had a very elegant way about him, especially the way he held his shoulders and strode his way toward her. At first she thought he was about to approach her, but he walked past to the club door—but not without a friendly smile and a glance her way.

"Whatever, pretty boy," Paine muttered, letting out a long sigh. Although there were a few stragglers talking and smoking around the club's entrance, the appearance of the man had seemingly disturbed her peace. Mentally steeling herself for the noise of the club, she headed back inside, not wanting to leave Lulu by herself for too long.

Lulu was right where Paine left her, although now she was talking animatedly to a bartender who was presumably making her a 5th drink. That woman could really hold her alcohol. As Paine approached her friend, Lulu noticed her and smiled, waving her sulky friend back over. The bartender she was talking to followed her gaze and met Paine's eyes. It was the man she had just seen outside.

"I really thought you bailed on me," Lulu remarked with a grin. "Paine, this is Baralai. I asked him to make you the strongest drink on Earth; you are _going_ to have fun tonight."

"I heard you wanted to get really trashed," Baralai remarked, a small smirk gracing his angular features. His white hair fell over his eyebrow just a bit; it was obviously bleached due to the appearance of dark roots peeking out between the white strands. His eyes deep brown eyes sparkled knowingly at Paine and she found herself blushing ever so slightly.

She wanted to break eye contact from Baralai- his gaze was so intense-but she wouldn't let herself back down. Feeling a little kick in her mood, she gave her own smirk and quipped, "Do your worst."

Baralai said nothing and simply began mixing the most hangover-inducing drink he could create.


End file.
